Sk8tr B0yz
by ChampagneWishes
Summary: Seth decides Ryan has spent too much time indoors studying for a big physics test and decides to take him outside and give him a skateboarding lesson. Just an excuse for Ryan whumping. Set in Seaosn 2. RL
1. The Laws of Physics: Objects in motion

"Come on Ryan, skating is so much cooler than riding a bicycle! C'mon your going to love it!" Seth proudly held his skateboard up in Ryan's face.

"Let's see, small surface, four very small wheels, yeah- I can't imagine what could go wrong." Ryan rolled his eyes, recently he'd been keeping the Atwood- luck at bay and he'd like it to stay that way. Skateboarding seemed like it might be tempting the fates, especially after everything he'd been studying physics all weekend. Objects in motion remain in motion... Speed equals distance over time...

"Wow- Mom has really gotten to you…" Seth said, rolling his eyes, "Kid Chino would not be afraid of a little skateboard."

"Kid Chino- has a big test on Monday." Ryan said, assuming that Seth had just come up with a new nickname for him, and he gestured back towards the text book he'd been bent over since 9am that morning.

"Ryan, it's a Sunday! You've been slaving away all weekend! C'mon, live a little!" Seth grinned at him.

Ryan sighed and shook his head, "Alright fine, let's go down to the pier, but I'll be taking my bike, and not for long, I have test in physics on Monday."

"Yeah, you mentioned that," Seth said, but he was glad at least to have some companionship. Life in the OC without Summer or Ryan was lonely and boring- and reminded him a little too much of what life used to be like before Ryan had appeared.

"So Kid Chino?" Ryan said.

"Yeah- cool name right? Sounds like a comic book hero,"

"Okay, you really do need to get out of this house more." Ryan grinned

"Maybe you could take me down to Chino later and you get some bad- boy back in you because seriously, Ryan Atwood, spending all day studying? Just seems plain wrong… Ooh! I know why you're studying! You're trying to impress that girl you tried to set me up with- what was her name again?" Seth pretended not to know.

"Lindsey!" Ryan growled at him, then saw Seth grinning at him and relaxed. Wow- he really did need to get out of the house.


	2. Atwood Law: What can go wrong, will

"I told you that was going to end badly," Ryan seethed at Seth as they sat in the uncomfortable plastic chairs in the HOAG emergency room.

"Well, you seemed like a natural there for a moment… You were rolling along, then you were picking up speed… Then that jerk cut right in front of you…" Seth winced inwardly reliving the moment, Ryan actually had been doing well, then a much better boarder had whizzed by cutting across Ryan's path. Ryan had tried to avoid the guy and had ended up falling backwards, his ankle twisting at what looked like a very uncomfortable angle, and smacking the back of his head hard against the pavement. He had no actual memory of the event and Seth had filled him in- in particularly gory detail including the words: "Man! You should have heard the crack your head made when it hit the ground!" Ryan was actually rather glad he couldn't quite remember that particular sensation. The ringing in his ears and the pounding of his wounded brain told him everything he needed to know.

"I'm never letting you talk me into anything ever again," Ryan said, holding the icepack to the back of his battered skull.

"You say that now, but when you feel better, you'll be begging me for another crack on that skateboard."

"Right now, I'll just settle for not seeing double…" Ryan muttered. A passing Newpsie had witnessed the entire ordeal and had been nice enough to give them a ride to the ER- after first making sure Ryan wasn't going to bleed or vomit on her BMW's leather interior. She had even given him the icepack.

"Ryan Atwood?"

"Here," Ryan stood up, and then fought to stay upright as the room suddenly started to sway and his ankle threatened to give way.

"Woah, careful there," Seth was at his elbow, helping him stay upright.

"Thanks," Ryan muttered, embarrassed. He started to hobble forward towards the nurse- the key word being "hobble."

"Ryan, are you limping?" Seth asked, staring at him.

"No, just not sure where to put my feet." Okay- so his ankle was kind of bothering him. It was hard for his addled brain to make out exactly what was wrong with his body at this moment, everything just seemed to hurt.

"Can we get a wheel chair over here?" Seth asked, ignoring the glare Ryan leveled in his direction.

"We'll take it from here, I'm sorry but you'll have to wait out here." A nurse told Seth, taking Ryan's arm in hers. Ryan was too tired to resist the childish treatment.

"You might want to get your parents, if you're under 18 we won't be able to release him until they're here."

"They're gonna kill us," Ryan groaned, he knew Sandy and Kirsten would not be pleased by their carelessness. He really should have worn a helmet…

"Not with the right spin…" Seth grinned.

"Ugh, don't say spin," Ryan's vision was doing plenty of that already. He was grateful when he was assigned a bed and he could sit down and his vision righted itself somewhat. He tried flexing his sore ankle but the spasm of pain told him that wasn't such a good idea.

"So, Ryan what seems to be the problem today?" A smiling man with a clipboard asked.

"I feel off a skateboard… Hit the back of my head."

"Do you remember falling?"

"Not really…"

"Any idea how long you were out for?"

"Uh… Not very long?"

"Any problems with your vision?"

"There's only one of you right?" Ryan asked.

"Yes,"

"Then yeah- cause I think I'm seeing two."

"Gave yourself a pretty good bump it seems- any dizziness? Nausea?"

"Yeah…" Ryan swallowed, "Both,"

"Alright, well we're going to have to do a CT, check for any signs of a severe concussion." Ryan realized after the doctor walked away that maybe he should have mentioned his ankle, the pain level seemed to have doubled after the short walk.

"Hi Ryan, my name's Nate, and I'll be your tour guide today," A man appeared and suddenly the bed was rolling. That was a little bit too much for Ryan's unsteady vision, immediately his stomach did a flip- flop. As if my by a miracle, a plastic trey appeared underneath him. "Woah, easy there kid," Nate cautioned, giving Ryan a little pat on the back as Ryan gagged, then fell back on the bed exhausted, his head pounding and the bright lights making him wince. "Rough day, eh?"

"Yeah…"

"What happened?"

"Fell backwards off a skateboard," Ryan said.

"Trying to do an Ollie? Or a wheelie?"

"Nope, it was my first time. I just wanted to stay on." Nate laughed.

"Well, maybe next time."

"There is definitely not going to be a next time." Ryan told Nate firmly.

"Well, maybe you should wear a helmet, you might need those brain cells."

Now that was a good idea- why hadn't they thought of that? Ryan mentally kicked himself. And brain cells… That test! On Monday! Oh God- did he forget everything he had spent so long trying to memorize? He began to start going over the formulas in his head, but it just caused his head to start aching.

"Kirsten's going to kill me…"

"Girlfriend?" Nate smiled.

"Worse- foster mother."

Out in the ER waiting room, Seth was trying for a positive spin- "Well Mom, you know how you're always saying try new things?"

"Yeah…" Kirsten said cautiously, her son seemed to have broken through his nervousness when it came to new things, and had since been trying to make up for the previous fifteen years.

"Well, uh, Ryan decided to try something new today."

"I'm guessing it wasn't sushi…" Kirsten said, inwardly groaning. "How much blood is there?" She asked, hopefully joking. From Seth's tone, she knew no one was dead.

"Uh, none actually," Kirsten sighed with relief, "But uh…" She realized she had taken that sigh of relief a little too soon.

"Seth, where are you?" Maybe she could cut to the chase.

"HOAG,"

She was afraid of that, "Is Ryan okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine… Just a little double vision…"

"Double vision?"

"He, uh, kinda fell off my skateboard."

"Is he okay?" Kirsten's heart quickened, no- of course he wasn't okay! Double vision, HOAG- he had a concussion at the least. "I'll be right there," She pulled her car into a sudden U- turn, and was rewarded with a round of honking horns. "Tell Ryan I'll be right there!"


	3. Kirsten Law

"Kirsten Cohen- I'm here for Ryan Atwood," Kirsten anxiously tapped her foot at the nurse at the front desk.

"Ah yes, Ryan Atwood, we have some forms for you to fill out… You are a parent or guardian correct?"

"Yes…" Kirsten hesitated, as the nurse pushed forward a huge stack of paperwork at her.

"Fill these out and return them to the front desk."

"Can I see my son?"

"He's with the doctor's right now, I'll let you know when you can see him." The nurse raised her eyebrows at Kirsten, clearly letting her know that they were done.

Kirsten made her way back to where Seth was sitting and sank down into a chair next to him. "I'm sorry Mom…" Seth muttered.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I hurt Ryan, and ruined your day... And I know how much your stressing about Grandpa and stuff, I really didn't mean to add to it."

"Seth, it was an accident." Kirsten told him, "You didn't mean to hurt Ryan, I'm sure Ryan didn't mean to get hurt, it's okay," She kissed his head. "But you know you're never riding that thing without a helmet again, right?"

"There goes my cool," Seth sighed theatrically.

"Alright, let's see," Kirsten held up the form to examine it, "Cause of injury- fell of skateboard, correct?"

"Yup,"

"Your not lying about this, are you?" Kirsten suddenly realized that "fell off skateboard" seemed a little too convenient…

"Mom…" Seth groaned.

"I can't believe you got him up on it," Kirsten marveled.

"I know- neither can he. But I think we can all rest assured that it was a one time thing only."

"And you're sure he's okay?"

"Bump on the head, that's all. He was barely unconscious."

"Alright," Kirsten was worried, but obviously Ryan hadn't been too badly injured or it would have been the hospital calling her and not Seth.

Kirsten finished filling out the forms with all her information, Ryan's information and their insurance information, and signed the consent forms, and handed them back to the nurse. "We'll call you if there's any news," the nurse told her.

"Can't I go back and see him?"

"I'll call the doctor." The nurse said, and dialed a number. She spoke for a few moments then told Kirsten, "Your son's having a CT scan, you can see him as soon as he's done."

"A CT scan?" Kirsten felt her pulse start to race. "Why?"

"Ma'm, the doctor will be with you shortly. Please have a seat," Kirsten walked back feeling stunned, a CT scan meant they were looking for something serious.

"Mom?" Seth immediately the shell- shocked look on his mother's face. "What's wrong? Is Ryan okay?"

"Yes, he's fine. They're just running some tests," Kirsten patted his leg to try and comfort him.

"Tests? What kind of tests?"

"It's called a CT scan, it checks the brain to make sure there's nothing wrong…"

"So that means…?"

"It doesn't mean anything, necessarily," Kirsten reassured him, wishing someone could reassure her. "The doctor will talk to us as soon as they're done with the scan, alright?"

"Alright…" But their early banter had disappeared and both of them fell silent.


	4. Hospital Law

"Kirsten Cohen?" A doctor appeared and Kirsten let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.

"That's me," Seth stood up with her and followed as she went to the doctor.

"Hi Mrs. Cohen, I'm Dr. Jenson," He shook her hand.

"Hi Dr. Jenson, this is my other son, Seth,"

"Nice to meet you Seth," The doctor shook Seth's hand.

"Is Ryan okay?" Seth asked, why were the wasting time with these stupid formalities? Ryan might be dying!

"Yes, your brother is fine. We did a CT scan and everything was clean, he just has a minor concussion. We've given him something to manage the pain. He's waiting for you, and I'm sure he's more than ready to go home."

"Thank you," Kirsten said, and happily followed the doctor back to the small bed where Ryan was being kept.

"Kirsten?" Ryan managed a smile when Kirsten appeared from behind the curtain.

"I'm right here," She squeezed his hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I have a headache," Ryan told her honestly.

"That should go away with a good night's rest, you can give him some Tylenol when you get home." The doctor said. "If there's any change in lucidity of consciousness, call us right away. Do you have any more questions? "

"No, I think we're good," Ryan said, practically jumping up from the table, and then wincing in pain. He had forgotten about his ankle.

"Ryan!" Kirsten was there in an instant. "What's wrong?"

"Uh… I think I kind of twisted my ankle when I fell," Seeing the doctor and Kirsten exchanging glances, he quickly added, "It's fine, really." And proceeded to try and walk as quickly as he could towards the exit, although he quickly realized that his leg was refusing to take any weight.

"As long as you're here, why don't we just take a look at that leg?" The doctor suggested. Ryan groaned- he had been so close to an escape, but he obediently hobbled back to the doctor and climbed back up on the table.

"Your never riding my skateboard again," Seth muttered.

"Thanks Seth," Ryan smirked, as the doctor pushed up his pant leg.

"Ryan!" Kirsten gasped when she saw his leg, it was badly swollen, especially near his ankle.

"What?" Ryan asked, not sure what the big deal was, but he also decided, after seeing the look on Kirsten's face, that he didn't really want to see it. He glanced at Seth, who was pointedly looking at anything but his leg.

"There's definitely significant swelling. I'm sorry Ryan, but I think I need to send you down for some x-rays." Ryan groaned.

"I have a test on Monday, I need to go home and go back to studying!" He complained, even though his ankle was throbbing badly even his few halting steps.

"I can write you a note, I'm sure your school would understand…" The doctor said, shaking his head. The pressure these kids were under!

"Ryan, Dr. Kim will understand if you can't take the test on Monday." Kirsten said rubbing his shoulder, and wondering why he wasn't in agonizing pain. It seemed like he should have been from how his ankle looked.

"Lindsey will think I'm faking…" Ryan muttered. But why did he care what she thought?

"Who?" Kirsten asked.

"Lindsey? Ryan's new brainiac girlfriend- the one he tried to set me up. Keep up Mom!"

"She's definitely not my girlfriend," Ryan explained, so everything was clear. His head was hurting, he wasn't in the mood for all this talking. Really he just wanted to go home and take a nap. They had given him something for the headache, and it had made him drowsy but everything hurt a lot less. That was nice...

"Hey Ryan, apparently we get to spend some more time together!" Nate appeared, "I'm here to take you down for some x-rays. You messed yourself up pretty good, huh?"

"No more skateboards…" Ryan muttered.

"At least not for awhile," Nate laughed. Ryan didn't think it was very funny.


	5. The Laws of Reality

"Mrs. Cohen?" Kirsten and Seth had both retreated to the waiting room while Ryan was getting x- rays taken.

"Seth, can you go get me a coffee?" Kirsten asked, before her son could protest, and handed him a five. "And get Ryan a bottle of water or something, I'm sure he's thirsty."

"Alright…" Seth sighed but wandered off to do her bidding.

Kirsten went to the doctor and both of them walked back to Ryan's bedside. "I can only assume the news isn't good," Kirsten whispered.

"I thought it best if you were here while I spoke to Ryan,"

"Right," Kirsten said, her mouth set in a grim line of determination. Ryan looked like he was half- asleep, and smiled tiredly at Kirsten when she approached. "Hey sweetie," She gave him a kiss on the forehead. "I sent Seth to get you something to drink, are you thirsty?" Ryan only nodded slightly, his headache had gotten worse, and moving his head didn't help it.

"I have a really bad headache," He admitted to Kirsten.

"I know sweetie, we'll get you some Tylenol on our way home. Does your ankle hurt?" That was her primary concern.

He shook his head slightly, "Not really, the headache's definitely worse."

"He might be feeling a little differently by tomorrow," The doctor said, putting the x- rays of Ryan's ankle up on the lighted board. "I'm afraid there's a minor fracture there, mostly caused by the disruption of the tendon." He gently traced a line up the outside of Ryan's swollen ankle. "When this tendon ruptured, it fractured the underlying bone. This is common with subluxion injuries. Did your ankle roll inwards when you fell off the skateboard?" Ryan shrugged, he had no idea. "But good news, it's not a severe fracture and won't require surgery."

"Lucky me," Ryan responded irritably, an ankle fracture did not sound like good news to him.

Kirsten glanced at him, but decided he was allowed his temper- poor kid was not having a very good day. "So are you going to put a cast on it?"

Ryan's eyes flew open, a cast? "Please don't…" He pleaded, the idea of limping around school with a cast on his ankle because he had fallen off Seth's skateboard was more than he could take.

"Don't worry, we're going to give you a weight bearing cast," The doctor said, Ryan let out a sigh of relief, but it was preemptive, "But I don't want you walking around on it for at least two weeks." Ryan groaned.

"I'm sorry," Kirsten rubbed his shoulder, "But that's not so bad, right?"

"Let's trade, you can be lying here and I can tell you that it's not so bad…"

"Doesn't hurt right?"

"No…" Ryan admitted. "Can we go home?" He pleaded.

"As soon as we get this brace on you, you're all done here." A nurse brought in a large black boot and with a sigh, Ryan let them Velcro it on to his leg.

"Seth's going to make fun of me…" Ryan muttered, as they helped him down into a wheelchair, and he took stock of the crutches Kirsten had been handed.

"He's not going to make fun of you," Kirsten made a mental note to tell Seth to keep his mouth shut about Ryan's injuries.

Sure enough as soon as they made out to the waiting room Seth was there, "Dude, you look like-" Then he saw the look his mother was giving him, "-like a million bucks!" He finished up hastily.

"Nice try," Ryan muttered, but the approaching exit sign did make him feel a whole lot better.

"Alright, everyone in the car- Seth, given Ryan the front seat. We're going to the pharmacy and then home." Ryan got up from the wheel chair and managed to maneuver himself onto the crutches. His first few steps were a bit unwieldy, but he quickly got the hang of them and kept up with Kirsten and Seth.

"Why the pharmacy?" Seth asked.

"The doctor gave Ryan something for the pain."

"But it really doesn't hurt," Ryan protested.

"Ryan, take the nice pills the nice doctor gave you," Seth patted his shoulder as they climbed into the car.


	6. Ryan Law

"Hey gang," Sandy boomed when he came into the kitchen, and immediately began loosening his tie. Kirsten was bent over a newspaper reading on the counter and Seth was sitting on a stool reading a comic.

Kirsten glanced up then put her finger over her lips, "Shh…"

"What's wrong?" Sandy asked, in a fake whisper.

"Ryan's asleep," Kirsten gestured to the couch, where Ryan lay, his bad leg was propped up but hidden under the blanket. Kirsten wanted him to stay asleep, every moment he was awake he buried his head in his physics textbook, which she didn't think would help his headache. She was determined to keep him home from school tomorrow and was preparing for that uphill battle...

"Oh… Well, wake him up, he'll never sleep tonight if he's asleep at five." Sandy said.

Seth glanced up and rolled his eyes, "He has a concussion, I'm sure he'll sleep fine tonight."

"Ryan got a concussion? When?"

"Today, he fell skateboarding." Kirsten explained, trying to keep her voice down, "I tried calling you, but your phone was off."

"Kirsten I'm sorry, I was in meetings all day with your dad and the lawyers…"

"Yeah, I know..."

"Wait... What was Ryan doing on a skateboard?"

"He was trying it out," Seth shrugged.

"I'm guessing it didn't go very well."

"Aside from the concussion and the broken ankle, I'd say it went great..." Ryan muttered from the couch.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Sandy went over to him, and patted his shoulder.

"Hurt," Ryan said, and pushed himself up.

"Yeah, sounds like you had a rough day. Did you go to the hospital?"

Kirsten rolled her eyes and poured herself a glass of wine, "Of course we went to the hospital."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there kid,"

"It's okay, not like you could have done anything," Ryan shrugged. His head was starting to feel a bit better he noticed, which really only meant he was starting to notice the pain in his ankle. Now that he was awake, he decided to go back to studying, and began feeling around on the floor for where he had dropped his textbook. Immediately he noticed it was missing. "Kirsten, where's my textbook?" He asked.

"I don't know, it isn't where you put it?" Ryan knew immediately from her tone that she knew exactly where it was. He started to get up from the couch, reaching for his crutches. "Where do you think you're going?" Kirsten asked.

"Need to find that textbook. I need to study."

"Ryan, you don't need to take that test tomorrow. You need to rest."

"Yes, I do. If I don't take it tomorrow, I'll fall behind in that class." Ryan explained, helplessly. He could tell Kirsten was planning on keeping him home from school tomorrow, but that just couldn't happen. He was ready to fight tooth and nail to make sure it didn't.

"Haven't you studied enough, man?" Seth asked, glancing up from the comic book.

"No," Ryan said, "I think I left half of what I learned out on the cement." Seth winced, he knew that comment was directed at him. Like somehow it was his fault Ryan had gotten a concussion, but Seth had already forgiven himself. Really, it was the fault of that jerk who had cut right in front of him. "Kirsten, please?"

"Oh, alright..." Kirsten sighed and produced the textbook from inside a drawer in the kitchen.

"Thanks," Ryan said, opened it and went back to studying. Trying to ignore the protests of pain from his ankle. He didn't want to take the pills the doctor had given him. They made him loopy, which in turn, made it really hard to study.

"What does everyone want for dinner?" Kirsten asked, "Ryan?"

"Whatever's fine..." He answered, trying to remembered a complex formula, that just kept slipping away from him.

"Can we have Thai?" Seth asked.

"Sounds good," Sandy agreed. Kirsten nodded and dialed the phone. Then poured herself another glass of wine, feeling like she deserved it, gradually feeling the tension in her shoulders relaxing. Her dad, Ryan... What else could possibly go wrong?


	7. The Laws of Survival

"Ryan, seriously?" Seth couldn't believe he saw Ryan sitting at the counter the next morning, doggedly working his way through a bowl of cereal with his eyes pointedly glued to his textbook, ignoring Kirsten's glare. She clearly was not appreciating Ryan's show of bravado.

"Test..." Ryan said, not looking up.

"Yeah, you mentioned that. Man, I can't believe your actually going into school today. The concussion alone would get you a few days off- concussion plus broken ankle? That earns you like- a week or something!"

"Studying..." Ryan reminded him. He was not appreciating Seth's attempts at distraction. Truth be told, he kind of wished Kirsten would just keep him home, but she had clearly decided Ryan was old enough and reliable enough to make his own decision, even if she didn't agree with it.

"Eat quickly Seth," Kirsten told him irritably, she was nursing a serious hangover and the three Advils she had already taken hadn't helped, "I need to get you to the school early so I can talk to the school nurse."

"Why?" The he glanced at Ryan, "Oh right,"

"Ryan, if you want me to pick you up after physics, just call me, okay?"

"Okay," Ryan said, still not looking up.

"Seriously Ryan, we need to come up with a better cover story."

"Yeah," Ryan muttered, ducked his head, his neck burning red with embarrasment, it seemed like everyone was turning to stare at him. He heard the kids whispering- "_I wonder who he got in a fight with..." _Did these kids really have nothing better to talking about?

"Chino?!" Ryan recognized the voice instantly, had to be Summer.

"And my headache was almost gone..." Ryan muttered. Now that she and Seth had broken up, Seth had started to encouraging berating the girl he had once been in love with. And he really didn't miss her shrieking, and of course- Marissa was her, staring at Ryan aghast.

"Summer, I know you get confused easily, but we are quite clearly in the O.C.- not Chino. Notice exhibit A-" Seth gestured at a passing water polo player who quickly moved away. "Popped collar... Plaid shorts, definitely O.C. Seeing as how he would get ass kicked in Chino."

"I was talking to Ryan," Summer said, tossing her head.

"Wow, she does actually know your first name, amazing!" Seth said, throwing up his hands.

"Ryan, what happened?" Marissa seemed to have recovered from her shock, although why she had to be so dramatic about it... She was acting like he had blood dripping down his face or something.

"Oh man- it was awesome! Ryan was in this cage fight and this dude just totally body- slammed him. It was so cool!" Seth babbled, then he glanced at his watch, "Oh will you look at the time, gotta get to class. See ya!" And he hustled Ryan out of there, leaving both girls looking rather confused.

"Gee, now they might think I got injured in some embarrassing way..." Ryan said, almost under his breath, trying to keep up with Seth, who was moving along at a steady clip. Both of them knew soon the halls would be crowded, making it difficult for Ryan to navigate.

They reached the doorway, "See you after class," Seth help open the door.

"Yup," Ryan entered the room, and was relieved when the few students who had gotten there before him, didn't bother looking up at the new arrival. He slid into his seat, dropped his crutches on the side, and stretched his foot out in front of him. He hurt from the constant jostling when he moved around. Maybe he would call Kirsten after this test was over... He got out his book and began taking one last look at his notes.

"Oh man," Lindsay slipped into the seat next to him, her hair was in messy bun and her cheeks were bright red. "I totally fell asleep at like 8 o'clock last night! And then almost slept in this morning! I'm so going to fail... I needed at least three more hours of studying last night!"

"I got a concussion and spent yesterday in the ER and forgot everything I studied all weekend," Ryan countered. He hadn't forgotten _everything_ but it wasn't much of an exaggeration.

"Oh shush Ryan," Lindsay clearly thought he was joking, and pulled out a book and started studying.

"Close your books please," The teacher said, and with a sigh all the students reluctantly put away their heavy text books. The teacher began passing out the tests, and with a sigh Ryan started working.

"That was a disaster..." Lindsay breathed when the class was over and the teacher had recollected all the tests. "I know I got at least three wrong...

"Yeah..." Ryan said, his head was spinning and his brain hurt. He reached over to collect his crutches, and heard Lindsay telling him a hasty good bye and then she darted off. Ryan managed to get to his feet and got to the door, he was relieved to find Seth standing there.

"How'd it go?" Ryan made a face and then began making his way steadily towards his next class. Trying to ignore the headache that was creeping up on him, and the steady increase in the throbbing pain in his ankle. He wasn't a wimp. He wasn't a coward. He could do this.

He made it to his next class and sank into his seat, only to find Marissa there waiting for him.

"Hi," She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Hey..." he tried not to sound too out of breath.


	8. The Laws of High school Society

"So, do you feel like telling me what actually happen? Seth didn't beat you up or something right?"

"Close, he was trying to teach me how to skateboard and I fell off."

"Must have been some fall…" Marissa said, looking at the large boot on his leg that ran almost up his knee. Stupid dresscode- the boot fit fine under sweats but not under pants.

"I wouldn't know, I got knocked out."

"Oh, ouch..." Marissa winced for him, and Ryan appreciated the reaction. "When did this happen?"

"Yesterday,"

"And you came to school today,"

Ryan shrugged, "I had to take a test."

"Yeah, I guess... I would think you could get a note or something."

"Maybe, but I had to take it sooner or later, right?"

After that the teacher called for silence so he could give a lecture about- well something, Ryan's brain went a little fuzzy. He was exhausted from staying up late to study the night before and the headache was getting worse by the minute.

"Do you want some help with lunch?" Marissa offered.

"Huh?"

"Carrying your tray and stuff?"

"Nah, it's okay. I got Seth and I know how Summer would feel about Seth and everything..."

"Oh right... Well, do you want go and do something later? Like, after school?"

"No thanks, I'm just going to go home and crash probably."

"Oh, right."

"Well, see you." Ryan went out into the halls, pleased to find his body guard standing at attention and they made their way out to the patio for lunch.

Ryan was halfway through a chicken salad sandwich when Lindsay appeared. "A B!" She said, waving a piece of paper around in the air.

"A bee? Where?" Seth jumped up and started looking around fratically.

"No, I got a B on that stupid test." She said, slamming the paper down on their table.

"Oh..." Seth sat back down sheepishly, careful to avoid Ryan's foot which was resting on his bench.

"He graded them already?" Ryan asked.

"It's easy to grade a test when every answer is wrong..." Lindsay muttered. Ryan didn't think that was true, knowing their teacher was fairly generous with partial credit, but there had only been about five questions on the test.

"Want me to go get yours?" Seth offered.

"Nah, I'd rather not think about it. I already know I flopped."

"Right, because you got that concussion," Lindsay said, smirking.

"I think that seems pretty legit," Seth said, he hadn't thought Lindsay would be so cold.

"Yeah, it _would _be." Lindsay emphasized.

"She thinks I'm joking," Ryan explained.

"Ah, well, I'd think so too. I mean, your a such a slacker, it makes sense you'd try and get out of a test by making up a story about concussion. But wait, you took the test and still made up a story about a concussion? That doesn't make much sense, unless... You really did get a concussion!"

"Or I'm just pre- planning excuses for a failing grade."

"Ooh, didn't think of that... I knew it! I knew you faking being unconcious! I'm so telling Mom- but tell me, how did you fake those x-rays?"

"Ah, now see, that was the tricky part."

"You two are weird," Lindsay said, watching them go back and forth. "So, did you get a concussion?" She had lost track.

"Yeah, I did." Ryan sighed.

"Oh, that sucks. Sorry... How?"

"Fell off a skateboard,"

"But keep that on the down low, we're working on fueling the rumor mill with stories of cage fights and saving babies from fires."

"Maybe it's not such a good to talk about me and fire, nobody needs a reminder." Ryan pointed out.

"Good point, I'll work on the cage fighting. Your opponent was named 'Scarro' by the way, because people never leave the ring without a scar."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Ryan told him honestly.

"A reminder?" Lindsay wanted to go back to that thing about a fire...

"Ryan burnt one of my mom's mcmansions down when he first moved here," Seth explained.

"Really?"

"It was an accident," Ryan added hastily. "I'm off to class, you coming?"

"Yup," Ryan managed to get up, resting his leg on the bench while Seth helped him with his crutches.

"Oh my god, Ryan," Lindsay said. "Same skateboard?"

"It was a vicious attack," Seth said, "Completely unfair fight."

Ryan rolled his eyes and started to hop away, "See you later Lindsay,"

"Wait! I'll walk you to class..." Lindsay jumped up from the table, and in her haste, knocked over Seth's tray which still held an open carton of chocolate milk. It splashed down and onto her skirt.

"Uh..." Ryan looked at her. She flushed bright red.

"On second thought... I'll see you later..." Then picking up her tray she fled.

"Do you two ever have normal interactions?" Seth asked.

"Seth, we're in the OC. I wouldn't know normal anymore if it bit me in the nose." Ryan admitted.

"Uh, I think that's on the nose... In the nose... That sounds just plain gross."

"Do you think Kirsten would come and get me if I called her? I'm pretty exhausted." Ryan admitted, now that he and Seth were alone. The food hadn't helped his headache, and the sun had made it worse somehow.

"Are you kidding? I think she'd do back flips of delight. Think you can break my leg so she'll take me home too?"


	9. The Rules of Engagement

Kristen felt a wave of gratitude towards the waitor as he stepped to their table and refilled her wine glass- again. She could see Julie giving her a look, but desided to ignore it. Julie pointedly took a sip of her own glass of water. The lunch had been awkward at best. Neither had much to say to the other. What was there to say? Julie's husband/ Kirsten's father was being prosecuted. Neither was sure where their children stood with one another. Were Ryan and Marissa friends these days? Kirsten felt a moment of relief when her cell phone rang. She picked it up and saw it was Ryan.

"Hi Ryan, how did the test go?"

"Uhmm… Not great…" Ryan admitted. Although it was such a blur he really had no idea. "Uh…" He really didn't want to be doing this, "Can you come get me? I'm not feeling great." He felt his cheeks flush even as he asked.

"Of course, I'll be right there."

Julie raised an eyebrow as Kirsten hung up the phone, "Sorry, I have to get going…"

"Was that Caleb?" Julie asked, her voice rising slightly.

"No, it was Ryan. He's not feeling well, I have to go to the school and pick him up." She got up from the table and started to take her wallet out of her bag, and then had to stop and steady herself with a chair as the whole room swayed and her knees got weak.

"Woah… Kiki…"

"Maybe I'd better drink some coffee first…" She said, sinking back into the chair.

"Are you alright?" Julie asked, but Kirsten just shot her a look that clearly told her to mind her own business. "Ryan called? Isn't he at school?"

"Yeah, he's not feeling great. I do really need to go get him…" She said motioning to the waiter and waving at her coffee cup.

"I'm sure he can relax at the nurses' office until you get there…"

"I doubt he's at the nurses' office, that kid can be so stubborn."Kirsten took a big swig of coffee.

"What's wrong? Stomach bug or something?" The conversation on the phone had been so brief, Julie almost thought Kirsten had faked the call or asked Sandy to call her, just so she could escape.

"No, he fell off Seth's skateboard," Kirsten took another sip of coffee, and then drank some water. She also took a helping of the bread that was on the table.

"At the school?"

"Oh no, over the weekend."

"And he's just now starting to feel bad?"

"He was hurt,"

"Oh…" That shut Julie up, Kirsten noted with satisfaction. After everything with Marissa, Kirsten felt that Julie had no right to be at all involved with Ryan's life in any way shape or form. She didn't want to tell her a thing about her son. She didn't trust her for a moment.


	10. OC Law

"Ryan, hey…" Marissa swallowed before she spoke, strangely nervous about talking to him. He had been so cold earlier in the day. And there was Lindsay…

"Hi," He gave her a slow smile, and she felt her body relax slightly as she looked into his bright blue eyes.

"Are you uh…" She looked around the parking lot, as if confused by what he was doing there. She had seen him from the top of the steps as she walked to class and came down to say… Well, she wasn't sure what she wanted to say.

"Kirsten's coming to pick me up," Ryan filled in for her.

"Oh, your leg… Does it hurt?" She asked.

He shrugged, "Yeah, kind of. Walking around so much is hard." He didn't want to have to admit weakness in front of her, but she was standing there and her hair was blowing slightly in the wind. She looked like there was something she wanted to say. They stood for a moment, silently regarding one another.

"Ryan!" A voice yelled and he looked up to find Lindsay bolting towards him. "Hey, I ran into our teacher, and he asked me to give you your test. Oh, and he said feel better. I didn't look!" She said in a rush, as she handed him the sheaf of papers. "Oh hey, Marissa…" Lindsay felt a blush rising to her cheeks. She always felt so awkward next to Princess Marissa.

"Thanks," Ryan said taking the papers from her hand but he made no move to look at the grade. The three of them stood there looking back and forth from one another, no one was sure what to say. Ryan felt a jolt of relief when Kirsten pulled up in the Range Rover and he had an excuse to break away from the two girls and the awkward silence.

"Hi Ryan…" Kirsten said pulling up and opening the doors. She saw the two girls standing there and couldn't help smiling to herself. She didn't want to help Ryan too much, especially in front of "the ladies" so she contented herself to opening the door and then standing back and letting him climb in. Both girls looked sorry to see him go and like they were hesitating climbing in after him.

"I uh… Guess I'll see you later." He said, although it was unclear to which one he was speaking, as mostly he was just concentrating on getting into the car.

"Yeah sure, call me." Marissa said.

"I'll give you a call later," Lindsay said, at the same time.

As they pulled away, Kirsten couldn't help chuckling slightly. "You have quite the fan club,"

Ryan shrugged, "It was getting awkward, you're timing was perfect."

"How bad can it be, having those girls fawn on you like that?" Kirsten asked.

Ryan gave her a strange look, but she didn't seem to notice. It wasn't like her to make such bawdy comments, and unsure how to respond he just grunted slightly. Kirsten seemed to take the hint because she dropped the subject.

"How was the test?"

"The test? Oh yeah the test…" He was holding it in his hand, and had almost forgotten. He hadn't wanted to look at in front of the girls. With a feeling of sinking doom, he glanced at it. A-. He had gotten an A-. He stared at, sure it was wrong. But no, there was his work, with minimal corrections, and a big red A- at the top of the page. If he hadn't felt so tired he would have given a whoop of delight, instead he just sank back into his seat with a sigh of relief.

"Well?" Kirsten asked.

"A-."

"That's great Ryan," She squeezed his arm, "We should celebrate!"

"Huh?" He stared at her.

"Come on, I'll get you a soda at the crab shack."

"Thanks," Ryan said, wishing she would just take him home. He was so tired, and hardly in the mood to go limping around town. He just wanted to go home, take some nice pills and spend the afternoon zoning out and letting his brain relax after the trauma and stress of the last few days, but it was not to be as they pulled into the parking lot.

With a sigh Ryan hopped out of the car, balancing on one foot as he pulled his crutches from the back and then followed Kirsten over to a table. Kirsten immediately sat down and ordered a glass of wine for herself, a coke for Ryan and an order of fried calamari for them to share. Ryan wasn't hungry, and he still hadn't learned to love the chewy texture of the fried squid.

Kirsten spent most of the lunch talking about some upcoming fundraiser, and Ryan got by with asking the occasional question and maintaining eye contact as if he was intently interested in everything she was saying, but mostly all he heard was the sound of the ocean in the background. Finally they wrapped up lunch and got back on the road.

They were only a few streets away from their house when the screech of sirens brought them up short. Ryan tensed as he always did when he saw the flashing lights in the rearview mirror. Kirsten let a curse word fly and Ryan stared at her in surprise, his amusement almost overtaking his fear.

The office approached the window and Kirsten lowered it, holding her license at the ready. "Is there a problem, officer?" She asked.

"Maybe, do you mind telling me why you were going fifty in a thirty five?" He asked.

"Was I?" Kirsten looked down at the odometer as if the numbers utterly confused her. "Sorry Office, I didn't realize." The policeman took her license and glanced at it.

"Mrs. Cohen? You helped organize that Policeman's ball a few years back, right?"

"Oh yes, that was me." Kirsten smiled.

"Is this your son?" The officer looked at Ryan, slightly confused, and probably thinking of Seth.

"Ah yes, this is my adopted son, Ryan."

"Hi Ryan," The officer tipped his hat. Ryan felt frozen, this was not how the cops behaved where he was from.

"Hi…" He mumbled.

"What happened to your leg?"

"Oh I… I fell off a skateboard."

"Ouch, sorry kid."

Ryan shrugged, "Alright Mrs. Cohen, drive safe- take care of Ryan there." The officer said, handing her license back. Ryan was shocked- he hadn't even run it through the system!

"Yes sir," Kirsten said, taking her license back, looking relieved and smiling as she restarted the car. "Maybe we shouldn't tell Sandy about this little incident, eh?" She suggested as they pulled into the driveway.

Ryan shrugged, still a little shaken by the encounter. He wasn't used to cops being so nice! But that was the OC for you- they could afford to be nice. It wasn't like the speeding soccer mom was about to pull out a gun and shoot him. Sometimes Chino seemed like world's away.


	11. OC Drama Law: If there can be drama

"Hi Lindsay," Seth said, his voice rising slightly. It was Tuesday afternoon and he had just gotten home from school. It hadn't been a good day. Ryan had stayed home, so he had found himself eating lunch alone and trying to force himself not to stare at Summer and the water polo boy toy she had found.

"Hi, is Ryan home? I thought he might want the notes from physics class today because he wasn't in school… He didn't ask me for them but I thought I'd bring them over anyway, and he's probably not up for doing the homework so I thought maybe I could help him out." Lindsay trailed off. She realized he was babbling slightly. Obviously Seth knew Ryan hadn't been in school that day. Ryan probably didn't even need his homework really, she just wanted an excuse to come over.

"Ah yeah… " Seth said, "Why don't I give to him?" He offered, holding out his hand.

"Oh well, it's kind of complicated, it's probably better if I explain it to him…" Lindsay said, pulling the notebook tighter to her chest.

"Oh well, I think he's asleep maybe…" Seth said. Just then Kirsten appeared behind him.

"Hey Lindsay,"

"Hi…" Lindsay felt her face getting red and was starting to seriously regret coming over here. "I uh… brought Ryan his homework."

"Oh wasn't that nice of you?" Kirsten smiled. "He's in the pool house why don't you go bring it to him?"

"Okay," Lindsay agreed and walked past Seth who looked like he was biting his tongue about something. She ignored him as she walked past him and towards the pool house.

"Mom!" Seth groaned when he thought she was out of earshot, "Marissa's out there!" He hissed.

"She is?" Kirsten asked.

"Yeah, she brought Ryan his history homework."

"Oh…" She said, then after a moment, "Oh!" Comprehension dawned on her.

"Yeah, see?"

"Oh yes, I see."

"Well, what should we do?"

"I think you'd better stand guard right here to see who brings over his English homework!" Kirsten joked.

"Mom!" Seth groaned, "I hate when you try and be funny. So, what should we do?"

"Seth, we're not going to do anything. Ryan can figure it out himself."

"But… but…"

"Don't you have homework to do?" Kirsten had a headache. The drama was Ryan's problem. She could tell Seth wanted to go out and watch the carnage but she didn't think his presence would do anything to improve the situation, in fact she was pretty sure it would have the opposite effect.

***

"Come in," Ryan called out when he heard a tap on the door. He assumed it was Kirsten coming to check on him once she heard that Marissa was out there with him, as Seth would undoubtedly tell her. Not that there was any hanky- panky going on. The two were just sitting next to one another on the bed, both of them quietly doing their homework. Things between him and Marissa were always so… It was nice to just sit there with her.

"Hi Ryan, I thought you might want your-" Lindsay stopped mid- sentence when she realized Ryan already had company.

Ryan pushed himself further upright and tried to stay calm, "Hi Lindsay," He said.

"I thought you might want your physics homework…" She thrust it towards him, but didn't dare approach any closer to the bed. "I- I guess I'll just leave it here…" She stuttered. Dropping it down onto the table and stumbling backwards. "I'll see you in school!" She called over her shoulder.

Lindsay stumbled back towards the house, muttering to herself, "God- could you have handled that any worse? Ryan must think you're such a spaz…"

"Lindsay?" She was surprised when she heard Ryan behind her. She turned around and found Ryan standing there, looking slightly unsteady.

"Should you be walking around?"

"Uh… Not really…" He admitted. The pain in his ankle was intense, but he felt bad about Lindsay. "Just so you know… There's nothing going on between us…"

"I know…" Lindsay said, her face turning even redder. He didn't need to tell her that she didn't have a monopoly over him, she already knew that.

"Between Marissa and me… we're just friends." Ryan finished.

"Oh…"

"I'm probably going to need some help on that physics…"

"But Marissa…"

"She won't mind…" He said, and Lindsay followed him back to the pool house.

Once inside Ryan settled himself at the desk, and propped his ankle up. Lindsay sat down next to him, and the two of them began to look over her neatly written notes.

Marissa watched them from the bed, as they bent their heads towards one another and felt a pang of jealousy. Sure she had been sharing the bed with him, but there was something intimate as the two of them bent of the shared textbook. When she couldn't stand it any longer, she stood up.

"Well, I'm going to get going. Dinner soon and everything." She collected her bag.

"Oh right, thanks for bringing over my work." Ryan said, barely looking up.

"Yeah sure…" Marissa said, waving good bye and then leaving. Had Ryan really just picked Lindsay over her?


	12. There will be drama

The sun was setting and casting a warm golden light into the pool house. Lindsay pushed a strand of her hair out the way , it looked bronzed in the late afternoon light. They were almost done with their assigned homework. He could tell Lindsay had been on edge for most of the afternoon, and he felt bad, but he didn't know what he could do to make her feel better. The truth was, he trusted her, more than he could trust Marissa. Lindsay might be a little awkward and a little whiney at times, but she could be so sweet and innocent. She had taken extra detailed notes, made copies, and highlighted key points all so Ryan wouldn't feel like he had missed much in class.

He could tell she felt bad about not believing him yesterday because today she did everything she could to try and make him comfortable. She went and got him an extra pillow to put under his ankle. Refilled his soda glass. Fetched a different notebook. Marissa had been nice when she had stopped by, but she had made no effort to try and make him more comfortable. Okay, he needed to stop comparing them in his mind. He had chosen Lindsay. He had already made up his mind. He wanted a nice calm relationship free from drama and craziness. And Lindsay could give him that. Not to mention that she seemed to understand him.

Like him, she didn't come from money and thus always felt a little uneasy surrounded by Newport's rich kids. She didn't have a father to speak of. Although she did have a mother who was willing to make great sacrifices for her daughter, unlike Ryan's mother, her family was still on the lower end of the OC socio-economic scale and Ryan appreciated that she seemed to have a better grip on reality than most people he met.

Lindsay for her part, seemed to think the same of him, although he could tell she was hesitant about getting involved with someone. She wanted to focus on her school work, an attribute Ryan could appreciate, although she was wound a little tight, it probably wouldn't kill her to relax a little…

Still, as he looked at her, bent over her notebook, diligently writing out every step of the complex formula, he couldn't help but smile.

A/N: So there seems to be a lot of Lindsay hate goin' round so I just wanted to write a little fluff so we all remember why Ryan and Marissa aren't together


	13. Author's Note

Hi everyone.

Thanks for reading this! I was going to keep going, but honestly, as I re- read it, I decided I really liked how it ended. So thanks for reading and check out my other stuff. 3


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